Another One Bites The Dust
by Gonstika
Summary: Snippets that take place at no particular time in the story. Some AU here and there as well.
1. Chapter 1

It took all of Weiss, Blake and Yang's years of training and willpower to not gag at just the sheer amount of cookies that were being devoured by the second.

They were also pretty sure the cow Faunus in the corner wasn't just here on a social call either.

"Ruby!" Weiss yelled.

Said girl sitting atop the mountain of uneaten packets stopped in her massacre and trained her eyes on the one who called her out.

She smiled and turned to face her.

"Hey, I'm gonna get you too!"

She was promptly knocked out by a stray bag to the head by Weiss. Before the blackness claimed her, she caught sight of Yang's hysterical laugher and Blake pinching the bridge of her nose, mumbling how it must run in the family.

 _"Worth it"._


	2. On a Dark and Stormy Knight

"Yang! Yaaaaang!"

Groggily, Yang awoke to the wailing coming from the outside window. If it were any other person, she would have gone right back to sleep.

"Xiao Long, would you please get your sister to shut up? It's too early" a certain Heiress called from across the room.

Yang hummed in agreement, though to what part of that she didn't know. Standing up, she walked over to the nearby window that at first glance seemed to be closed, but upon closer inspection she could see it was about an inch away from the lock.

Pulling it open, she gazed towards the tree which was planted outside. The telltale shape of her sister in that ridiculous costume no stranger to her eyes.

Ruby's face was embedded with embarrassment.

"Yaaaang! The Dark Knight's cape got stuck in a tree branch again!"

Yang could only roll her eyes. What was this, the fifth or sixth time this had happened?

"Yeah, well maybe this will teach the Dark Knight that she shouldn't be sneaking around when her team mates have all gone to sleep."

Grabbing both ends of the window, she put on the sweetest face she could.

"Goodnight".

And slam went the window.

Ruby continued to hang there for the entire night, shock plastered all over her face. 

* * *

**AN: What the hell? Might as well use this to post little snippets I write every now and then. Don't expect regular updates though.**


	3. When The Moon Eclipsed The Sun

"Hey, so what if nobody told you that life was gonna be this way?" he said, embracing her into a hug with a few subtle pats for good measure. "This whole situation's a joke, we're all broke and our love lives are probably D.O.A".

He pulled away from her, his hand intertwining with hers as they gazed upon Vale. "You have to stop running, Blake. Your team, everybody needs you. I see a beautiful girl with so much potential for good who just seems like she's stuck in second gear."

"B-But I feel so alone! If I try, Adam... He..." she said, beginning to tear up

He pulled her close to himself again, soft shooshing noises whispered into her ear to try and calm her down.

"Listen, I know it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year, but..." he said, leaving off as he pulled away again to look into her eyes with a conviction Blake had never seen in the man before.

"I'll be there for you."


	4. A Real Lady Bugger

After a long day of school and some time spent in the training grounds, all Yang wanted to do was go back to her dorm and relax.

Until she thought of a better idea.

Looking around in all directions, she pulled out a secret compartment from the wall beside her bed. In it lay a box holding very important items that were specifically asked to be made.

Removing the lid, she proceeded to pull out 4 different 6 inch pieces of articulated plastic.

One thing Yang learned very quickly was that making toys was much more expensive than what she thought it would be. Luckily for her, that favor that Junior owed her came in handy.

Customized from head to toe, each figure were roughly in 1:12 scale. All wore their respective combat attire made of different types of cloth and were fully removable, though nothing but a blank body was to be seen underneath.

"Aagh! Help me!" Yang said, trying to pull off her best Blake impersonation.

"I'm coming, Blakey!", this one of her doing Ruby.

"Muahaha! You will never defeat me, Ruby!", finally, Weiss.

Boom, Kapow, Pew and many other variations all sounded within the room with its lone occupant as they clashed the figures together.

"No~! How can this be~?! I am defeated~!"

"Ruby! You're my hero!"

"Yes I am, Blake! Now... about my reward?". She began leaning their faces together.

"And just what reward would that be?" a new voiced called from the now open door.

Yang froze. The person behind that voice wasn't supposed to be back for another hour.

Turning her head, she made eye contact with a pair of yellow eyes which stared right into her soul, demanding an answer.

"H-H-Hi... Blake..."

Closing the door behind her, Blake made her way over to where Yang was seated.


	5. Salmon Fighting Teal - Maybe Not

Nora had fallen.

They had all viewed her struggle where a surprise attack by a Grimmgheli Major had caught her unprepared seconds before she was able to take a shot at the incoming cruiser with the Light Mass Dust Relay Cannon.

There was a choice to be made.

"Get aboard, now!" one of the Atlas soldiers called out to her from the back of an air carrier. She knew the Obelisk of Fall, while a mighty warship in its own right, would not be prepared for take-off if she left with them.

"Negative, I have the gun. Good luck to you, Ozpin" she says, turning and making her way towards where the gun was mounted.

Ozpin could only look on with sad eyes, knowing very well just what she was trying to do. He would have ordered her to return with them but even he knew they were out of time. They had to escape with the Polendina data unit as fast as possible.

"Good luck to you, Huntress" he says, turning back to the passenger seats and strapping himself in for the long ride ahead.

"You truly have graduated".

* * *

It was many hours later that Ruby found herself standing atop possibly one of the last abandoned settlements that the Grimm hadn't managed to completely destroy.

Across from nearly all directions lay what could only be described as a wasteland in development. The air was thick with death and killing intent as Grimm made their way inside.

Checking her scroll again, she read over the last mission statement given to her by Ozpin as he was leaving the planet.

 _There'll Be Another Time_

Objective: **Survive**

Ruby readied Crescent Rose as an innumerable amount of Grimm surrounded her from all sides as far as the eye could see.

If she was truly going down, it wasn't going to be without a fight. She would make Yang jealous if she had to, even without her there beside her. 


	6. Indian Cubop

She had done it. She had finally dealt with what she deemed was the phantom pain that ate away at her every day. She finally had revenge at the one thing that caused Blake great suffering.

One punch was all it took for her to end his life, to see the light leave his eyes behind the half cracked mask that was still attached to him.

Ah, she had just coughed up a mouthful of blood. That was usually never a good sign of things that were about to happen to her. She didn't have any reason to complain though.

Yet despite it all, she couldn't help but smile. She never gave it much thought but when it did, she never seemed saddened that this may be how she eventually bites the dust one day.

 _Heh... Bite the dust... That's one I'll never get to use again._

Her legs shook with every step she took, down the long and narrow stairwell that lead into the front room of the large fortress. Her vision swam, making it took like each step was 10,000 miles steep.

She heard gunfire and the clash of metal against metal echoing in the distance from the outside, the battle still raging on between the two armies.

Nothing like that was to be heard as she made her way down.

A shuffling of feet caught her attention as she stepped into the light breaking through a hole in the ceiling.

She knew.

Raising her head, she locked eyes with all of the numerous White Fang members that stared at her. Her aura was completely gone and she didn't have enough energy stored for her semblance to take effect. Smiling, she reared her remaining arm back, Ember Celica out of ammo and damaged beyond all repair.

One final fist pump was only appropriate with one final pun.

"Yang..."

Her last word echoed for all to hear before she felt herself falling forwards.

In her final moments, she could swear she heard the angels calling, her Mother's voice joined in chorus with them.


	7. The Rider's Mask

"Don't worry, I'm just a Huntress in training passing through" she replied to Weiss as she pulled out what appeared to be a trading card with Ruby's face imprinted upon it.

Swiping the card in mid-air and positioning the camera near her waist, a strange belt seemed to phase into existence right before their eyes, strapping tightly around Velvet.

Sliding the card into the camera, the group was greeted with a foreign voice emanating from the camera itself.

 **"FINAL FORM RIDE! R-R-R-RUBY!"**


	8. Mirror, Mirror

"Ruby, do you really need to make a mess of our room so often?!"

Said girl being spoken to carried a face of embarrassment, a slight tinge of pink in her cheeks.

"Blake, I know you and I may have differences in our reading material but could you at least take better care of your property?" she said, waving the slightly charred book cover for Ninjas of Love.

Blake's own face was struck in probably the most denial-looking expression she could conjure up, hands in the air shaking back and forth.

"And Yang, for the last time stop stealing my shampoo!"

Yang meanwhile just laid back in her bed, arms behind her head as she rocked to the latest Achieve Men album.

"Honestly, all of you..."

 _drip_

"All of you... I... _hic_...I really miss all of you..."

But nobody answered back to her. Nobody came to comfort her.

Because nobody was left in the world.

She truly was the loneliest of all.


	9. Black The Beast

"You're in luck, I'm the only one here who's got one like her" he said, walking alongside Yang. "But, eh, you might as well buy an entire shipment of dust I think, ah? Haha".

Yang kept quiet, focusing on the situation at hand.

"Saying which, how are you gonna be paying for her?" Roman finished.

She turned and looked to him. "I have 20,000 lien."

Roman looked offended. "Lien? Lien is no good out here. I need something more... _real_." he emphasized.

Turning fully to face him, Yang countered. "I don't have anything else but..." she began, cracking her knuckles "Lien will do fine."

"No, it won't" Roman deadpanned.

Now it was Yang's turn to be confused. Intimidation was usually one of her strong suits.

"Lien. Will. Do. Fine." she gritted, almost damaging the circuits in her robotic arm.

"No. It. Won't" Roman shot back, now annoyed. "What? You think you're some kind of real Huntress, trying to intimidate a criminal overlord like me? I'm a slimy bastard, I've seen more intimidation from the old shopkeep in Vale."

Bows furrowed, Yang continued to stare into him.

"No money, no cat girl for you." Roman finished, swinging his cane into his shoulder with style. "And I promise you, there are _a lot_ of customers who have very _keen_ interests in your little friend here."

Although she tried to square herself to try something else, in the end she stepped back and away from the slave dealership. As she walked away, she couldn't help but take one last glance at the barred cart holding her former partner.

The shock collar around her neck, metal wrist and ankle guards attached to reinforced steel corners of the cart itself, topped off with a shocking display of a cat dish and hamster water fountain.

She needed to turn back around. She couldn't handle seeing anymore a sight like that.

One thing was for sure though.

They would be reunited.

And they will have a _long_ talk about what has happened post-Battle of Beacon.


	10. Definitely Survive

Roman corners an alone Cinder.

"Well, well, well... If it isn't little miss fire bitch. Did you know it feels so good to finally be able to say that?"

Cinder can only narrow her eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did Red's light show mess up your hearing? Let me repeat that for you."

She starts collecting fire in her palms.

"Little..."

The heat intensifies.

"Fire..."

Their mass increases.

"...Bitch. And you can't do anything to stop me."

She halts in confusion.

"Oh yes, don't you know? I'm in on this little shenanigans everyone here is calling a "council" and as the boss lady said "Everyone here serves a purpose", or did the wittle Huntress that could be take brain cells as well as that eye?"

Her scowling somehow appeared inhumane.

"You think you're all hot stuff just because you think you've gained a little bit of a power up? Lady, you don't even know the half of what real power is."

He leans in close.

"Go ahead. Kill me. Scorch my skin for all the world to see in a glorious pillar of fire. But know this... Your boss is not going to be very happy and I doubt even in her infinitude of patience would she tolerate something like this. But oh, you're the one with all the power, so you have nothing to fear, right?"

The fire died down within her hands.

"That's right, play the part of every bitch in history and back down when you can't get your way. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a Daughter I need to find."

Stepping away from her, he turns to leave out a nearby door, swinging his cane and whistling a tune that left her with an uncomfortable feeling.


	11. Parallels

A sliding door opens.

Winter Schnee, accompanied by three of the top Hunters in the entire Atlas military flanked her from both sides as they made their way down the corridor leading to General Ironwood's office.

Hearing their arrival, he turns in his chair to face them.

"Winter, I take it the White Fang uprising in Atlas has been taken care of then. I must say you're here sooner than expected."

Scowling, Winter reached to her side, grabbing her specialized cutlass. Her flanks followed suit with their own weapons.

"In the name of the Kingdom of Atlas, you are under arrest General."

His eyes narrowed in response.

"Are you threatening me, Specialist Schnee?" his tone of voice taking a darker, more raspy twist far removed from his stern, yet warmer tones that his men knew him for.

"The Council will decide your fate." Winter replied, absolute certainty in her voice.

If Ironwood didn't appear angry before, his now defined features definitely portrayed it.

"I am the Council." the conviction in his voice sending a chill down their spines. "Not yet." was Winter's final answer.

Standing from his chair, a revolver from what appeared to be almost out of thin air landed into his right hand.

"It's treason then."

* * *

 _Later_

Grabbing the holo-drone from her pocket, she activated the incoming transmission.

The image of General Ironwood greeted her vision as she awaited his orders.

"Miss Polendina. The time has come. Execute Order 66."

Total neutrality crossed her once determined features.

"It will be done, my lord."

* * *

 _Order 66_

 _"In the event of Hunter officers acting against the interests of the Kingdom, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme General (Headmaster), GMA commanders and Atlesian Knights will remove those officers by lethal force, and command of the GMA will revert to the Supreme General (Headmaster) until a new command structure is established."_


	12. Puns of The Patriarch

He knew.

This was it.

This will be the day.

The fight had taken much out of him and he only blames himself for not staying in shape.

Not since that day...

His wounds were far too fatal, that much he knew. The slowly forming lake of red around him, tainting the greenery of the charred battlefield that was once his home.

It was too much.

And yet though, he couldn't help but chuckle. Laugh, even.

"Laughing in the face of your death? You're either stupid or your adrenaline is finally wearing your mind down."

The Red Bull's unamused eyes meeting his own was enough for him to open his mouth further and let loose another few strangled gasps that could almost be considered laughing.

Focusing to keep his eyes on the opponent who bested hi, he gathered his breath carefully.

"I'm not afraid to die. I've been dead inside for far longer than I should have. What I am now is only the next natural course of events."

Smirking, the Red Bull flicked his blade, sending splatters of blood in a wide arc away from him before sheathing it away. Turning it around, the barrel faced towards the Golden Lion.

"Then you'll be glad you're not going to be feeling this."

Suddenly, white hot pain shot up his arm, forcing him to drop his weapon and clutch at his arm. Madly looking around in all directions, it was only once a blade presented itself against his neck that he stilted all movement.

"You..."

Black armour with red highlights greeted his vision, or what he could barely see as to not agitate its user.

But he knew that bone white Nevermore mask anywhere he saw it.

"Get. Out."

Two words.

One simple command.

" _tch_ You know he's-"

The blade drew closer to his throat.

"Fine!"

That was all she wanted to hear before he took off running, being sure to grab his weapon on the way and never look back.

Sheathing her own blade, she turned to look at the Golden Lion on the ground in front of her.

Only to be greeted by that warm smile that she fell in love with all those years ago.

"Hey..."

Putting a hand atop her mask, she removed it, revealing a face he was not bound to have seen in over 18 years. Red blinking eyes met his own blue, an eternity almost seemingly passing between them in an instant of understanding.

That instant was all she needed before she had to direct her sight elsewhere.

"I was too late..."

"...Nope."

Her head jolting at such a statement, she turned to face him again.

"Tai, you-"

"Nope."

Once again, they were back to staring at each other. Each other's eyes piercing the other's soul.

It was finally he who spoke up.

"Please... Take me to her."

* * *

The trek to the gravesite atop the cliff was a relatively short one, spent mostly in silence apart from moments where she had to stop and let him cough out.

"She looks so much like you, did you know?"

She only kept walking.

"I remember when I first told her about you and showed the old picture from back when we were at Beacon. It was probably the longest I'd ever seen her be silent."

She didn't need to hear this.

"Do you know what she said?"

Obviously she didn't.

"She must be nice... If you fell in love with her."

She almost stumbled.

They were only a few meters away from the grave site, the epitaph becoming ever so closer to them both. Before long, they were both standing in front of the glue that kept them together for what seemed to very long ago.

 _Thus Kindly, I Scatter_

"Put me... Put me down n-next to her."

After some minor hassle and stubborn pride, the Golden Lion was now leaning against the concrete slab which detailed the resident who resided there, now blocked from view.

"I want to let you know... I forgive you."

She was now crouched down, facing him directly.

"Your body... And your soul... Are your own."

 _inhale_

"Forget about us. Live... For yourself..."

He raised a cigar to his lips, an old habit he hadn't indulged in the years since she left. Bringing out his old lighter, the engraving of his family's symbol shined in the setting sun.

Until his grip fell weak and dropping out of his hand.

A flash of dejection crossed his features before they reset back into his neutral expression, somehow enhancing all the stress and age on his face from years of hardship.

"And find... A new lease on life."

He knew what was happening now.

How his body was becoming weaker.

The cigar dropped from his lips, his breath wheezed and shaky.

She could only stare at where it dropped.

A stray tear leaking from his eye as he tried to turn and face the grave that was supporting him. "I'm so proud... Of everything you... and her gave to me. Thank you..."

A confident resolve crossed her features as she picked up the fallen cigar, raising it to her own lips and igniting it with the fallen lighter. She never was one for indulging in these kinds of things but she hardly cared at the moment. Puffing a few, she raised it back to his lips, enough life left in him to keep a grip on it before raising his hand to take grasp of it.

The taste of strawberries filled both of their mouths.

A few stray coughs made their way from him, having inhaled too much of the vapour before he moved it away from him and resting his arm upon his knee.

He could only smile.

"This is good, isn't it?"

He closed his eyes, smile still in place.

Seconds passed by as she stared into the closed orbs, still kneeling where she was in front of him.

The cigar dropped from his grip.


	13. What Number is This?

"Are you, uh... A real villain?"

Catching her attention from a couch on the other side of the room, Neo turned her head away from her magazine towards Roman and the assembled group containing multiple members of the White Fang.

"Well, eh, technically... Nah." one of them replied back.

Roman scowled. "Have you ever caught a good guy like a... Like a real Superhero?"

"Nah." another grunt replied while another shook their head in agreement with their teammate. To Neo's childish mind, she imagined cartoonish sound effects from such an exaggerated movement.

Pinching his nose, he continued.

"Have you ever tried a disguise?"

Yet again, this was met with more head swinging and firm denial from grunts all around him.

Exhaling a breath he didn't know he was holding, he began to rub his hands to together. "Alright!" he yelled. "I can see that I will have to teach you..."

The grunts leaned in...

"How to be..."

Closer...

"Villains!" he finished, scaring each and everyone around him.

Neo could only mutely sigh in embarrassment as Melodic Cudgel transformed into its unseen third form: A saxophone, and watch as Roman began playing a series of off-tune notes, a testament to his failure to keep up with his practice from years ago.


	14. Of Mice Faunus and Port

Why do you think he goes on absurd stories about himself? He does it to get away without having to teach any class with mice faunus in them.

After class, he always collapses into a cold sweat when nobody is looking. His memories consume like opening the wounds, he's picking himself apart again. Everyone always assumes he's safe here in the classroom unless he tries to start again. He doesn't want to be the one the battles always choose 'cause inside he realizes that he's the one confused.

He doesn't know what's worth fighting for or why he has to scream. He doesn't know why he instigates and say what he doesn't mean. He doesn't know how he got this way and he knows it's not alright.

So he's breaking the habit. He's breaking the habit tonight.

Tonight.


	15. Humble Beginnings

"Hello there, I'm Ozpin!"

Her head snapped up from where it lay on her knees towards the direction of where the voice came from. Adjusting her glasses, her eyes laid upon a pair of legs before trailing up to see the smiling face of a young boy.

"H-Hello..." she meekily replied back, not used to talking with others unless it came to teachers, her family and the occasional bully on the playground.

Who'd want to talk to her anyway? She was probably the most plain looking girl of their class with her glasses and braids, which unfortunetly due to a rare hereditary disease was already starting to turn white. The same disease was responsible for her skin tone starting to bleach itself out, forcing her to stray away activites that she used to like doing such as going to the beach and playing out in the sun for hours on end.

It'd be foolish to say others didn't pick up on this. Bullies tended to get to her first and taunt her endlessly about her disastrous features.

"Grimm Girl" they called her.

The boy was still there.

"What's your name?" he said, continuing to smile.

Her name? It wasn't something she was asked very often, mostly due to its old world conotations but her parents assured her that they named her with nothing but love in their hearts and minds. Something about it being magical.

After some deliberation, she gathered her courage.

"Salem."

The boy, Ozpin, was now kneeling in front of her.

"Salem. That's a pretty name."

Oh my...

If she happened to be blushing, it was sure to be easily showing on her skin.

"What are you doing over here all alone?" he asked.

"I... umm... I don't really have any... friends... a-and I can't play outside for very long because I'm s-sick..."

Ozpin's smiled dipped...

Before he grabbed her hands with his own.

 _They were warm... Like his smile_ she reflected.

"That's no good! Everyone should have a friend! I'll be yours if you'll be mine!"

Her eyes could only widen before she was pulled from where she was sitting and Ozpin dragged her along to a swingset in the distance.


	16. Nya

_"Oh god, she's a Cat Faunus..."_

Was all Yang could think as they reunited with their teammate while she sorted out her issues with Weiss.

And she wwas to be her teammate and partner for at least the next four years.

"Fucking awesome".

* * *

 _"Oh god, why did it have to be a Cat Faunus!?"_ Yang internally yells as she tries and fails to hit her target, intentionally or not.

"Ooh, Flashy Eyes! You know, you're actually kinda pretty when you're angry".

 _No, dammit! No!_

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"


End file.
